Given to leave hospital after horror injury

Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given is expected to leave hospital on Saturday as he
continues his recovery from surgery to repair a tear in his bowel.
The 30-year-old Irishman had an operation in London on Monday a day after
being injured in a collision with West Ham striker Marlon Harewood.

Magpies boss Glenn Roeder has been in touch with Given, and today revealed he
should be discharged from hospital tomorrow before heading back to the
north-east.

Roeder said: 'Shay will be leaving hospital in the morning and be travelling
back up to Newcastle.

'He has started to feel a lot better over the last couple of days. Even after
the operation, he was in a fair amount of pain from surgery and needed to keep
taking the pain-killers.

'I have spoken to him every day and he is feeling a lot better.'

Given will be out for around six weeks, but will begin his rehabilitation over
the next few days.

Roeder said: 'Once we get him back up here at the weekend, then probably
early next week, he can come back to the training ground.

'I know the surgeon and he said he had done a neat and tidy job, made the
incision as small as possible so he can recover as quickly as possible.

'We are probably looking at around six weeks until Shay will be fit again.'